A1 Movie Reviews

The lesson to be learned from Shrek Forever After? Even ogres–and animated film franchises–get the blues. In the most recent and allegedly final (I’ll believe it when I see it) installment of tales from Far Far Away, the titular green hero (voiced by Mike Myers) comes down with a serious case of midlife crisis.

For Shrek, “happily ever after” has come to mean tourists vying for his autograph, endless diaper changes, bedtime stories, and first birthday parties. How’s an ogre to get some quality time in his mud bath? By striking a deal with a shifty little wish salesman named Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn, also credited as the film’s head of story), that’s how. Shrek agrees to trade one day from his babbling baby ogre years for one of complete freedom from his workaday fairytale existence.

But there’s a catch. Shrek’s one day of freedom turns into a version of It’s a Wonderful Life with a much trickier escape clause. It seems Rumpelstiltskin has been holding a grudge since Shrek rescued Fiona (Cameron Diaz) with true love’s kiss and thwarted his own plot to become supreme ruler of all the land. In this alta-universe, Rumpelstiltskin is the tyrannical king, witches patrol the sky, and ogres are hunted mercilessly. To make things worse, none of Shrek’s loved ones, including Donkey (Eddie Murphy), a soft-around-the-middle Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), and a Xena Warrior Princess version of Fiona know him at all.

As it turns out, it’s not just Puss who has grown soft around the middle in Shrek Forever After. The whole film seems to suffer from an unfamiliar fat sluggishness. The first two films in the series (I admit to not having seen the third) were fast-paced, irreverent, and unexpected takes on familiar stories. They managed to walk the fine line between children’s and grown-up entertainment.

Here, that line is so distant a memory that I’m not sure who writers Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke are trying to entertain. It’s not the kids, who couldn’t care less about old people complaining about getting old. And it’s not us fogies, either, or else they would’ve given us much smarter and more timely pop culture in-jokes than Donkey crooning Lionel Richie’s “Hello” (a too-easy potshot by this point).

While we’re on the subject of music–previously one of the franchise’s strong suits–where was this film’s big musical number? And what’s up with the recycling of “I’m a Believer” for the end credits? Cheap, just cheap.

The film’s sole innovation is its first-time use of the recently revived, now omnipresent 3-D format (Thanks a lot, James Cameron!). Director Mike Mitchell and the animation artists pull out the familiar bag of 3-D tricks: rain falls gently in your lap, the characters take dizzying broomstick rides to the sky, and a battle scene includes projectiles that fly out of the screen. Still, the shades added little more to my movie-going experience than an additional $4 to the ticket price. Something else parents of a brood of wee ones surely won’t appreciate.

They will definitely, however, appreciate a few spot-on casting choices. Hearing the voices of Craig Robinson as an androgynous, smart-mouthed cook and Jon Hamm as Brogan, a gallant ogre-warrior, was definitely a welcome surprise. Kathy Griffin (as a witch, natch) and Ryan Seacrest (kind of wasted) also make vocal appearances.

Still, the best elements of Shrek Forever After are its most familiar ones, namely the core four actors in the series. Sure, he’s whinier than Shrek has been in the past, but Myers maintains what is loveable in the not-so-jolly green giant. Meanwhile, Diaz’s voice lends a sweetness to Fiona that even shoulder armor can’t hide. Murphy’s too-damn-fast, diarrhea-of-the-mouth delivery remains amusing even as his role is reversed from unrelenting pursuer of Shrek’s friendship to unwilling recipient of it. And underneath that cream-filled center, Banderas’ Puss is as charming as ever.

If only they had been given a fresher story (how many times must George Bailey be reincarnated?) and more engaging dialogue to chew on, they might have been able to rescue this just so-so sequel from its dark, 3-D tower.

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